Lexi Revellian

Caz Tallis has a great life living in her dream flat in London and loving her job making and restoring rocking horses. So when a handsome stranger turns up on her balcony she is surprised to say the least. Particularly when the stranger turns out to be rock star Ric Kealey – who died three years ago when he was accused of the murder of his bandmate. After Ric’s ‘death’ the murder investigation was closed. But now Ric wants to prove his innocence, and Caz gets drawn into helping show more him.

Cas finds herself drawn to Ric, but as their enquiries progress, she starts to wonder how much she really knows him – and suddenly she doesn’t know what the truth is, or who she can trust…

This was a great story, combining an intriguing mystery with a budding romance. The story unfolded at exactly the right pace, and I genuinely had no idea how it would end up. I was able to empathise with Caz’s feelings towards Ric – he was charismatic and attractive, but could also be selfish and irritating.

The story is narrated by Caz, and she’s a great character – easy to identify with, and with a great sense of humour. The story twists and turns as she tries to sort out the lies from the truth.

There are a few other characters who flesh out the story – Ric’s solictor and manager Phil, who may or may not be trustworthy; his outrageous and unpredictable former bandmate Jeff Pike; Caz’s best friend James; and Phil’s girlfriend Emma.

Overall, this is a very entertaining and fun read, with a genuinely unpredictable ending – I would certainly recommend it, and hope to read more by this author. show less

I'm always a little wary of having over-high expectations of a book on the grounds that I liked the author's other works because unless they involve the same characters in the same world, it doesn't always work that way; but having read and loved `Remix', I picked up `Replica' in the assumption that what I had before me would be as well-written, well-formatted and sharply edited as her first book. I was not disappointed.

`Replica' tells of Beth Chandler, who on finding that her planned show more evening with her feckless boyfriend has fallen apart, is persuaded to let herself be subjected to the trial-run of the replicating machine on which her boss, the Professor is working. Getting back out of the machine, she is told that it did not work and is only mildly dismayed at the loss of her evening; however, what she does not know is that in the receiving end of the replicating machine in the other lab lies Beth Two - a perfect, thinking, fully-functioning copy of herself.

Beth Two fairly quickly realises what has happened; but she also overhears the Professor arguing with his unscrupulous boss over the potential fate of the replica and whether she can really be said to be a person, and therefore possessed of basic human right. Being no fool, Beth Two flees; and Beth One, all unwitting, suddenly finds her life crumbling around her. Due to what she is told is a terrorist death-threat, she is moved to a safe-house, a new job, and watched around the clock by security men who are hoping that the replica Beth will come to the original for help.

This has the potential to be a very confusing book but due to the neat trick of telling Beth One's story in the third person and Beth Two's story in the first person, there is never any confusion as to who is saying what. Beth Two is thrown into a fugitive lifestyle while Beth One is protected and provided for, and the gradual difference made in their character by the circumstances is an interesting theme that emerges as the story develops. So too is the romance between Beth One and the hunky man from MI5 who she thinks has been set to protect her; he cannot tell her that his task is really to deal with the replica if she should appear, so while he is falling for the original Beth, all the time he must be prepared to "get rid of" Beth Two who is identical to Beth One in all respects; another intriguing ethical twist.

The development - or lack thereof - of the respective Beths is alternately exciting and full of suspense; the characters are engaging and believable; and all told, `Replica' is another sterling effort from Lexi, quite on a par with `Remix' and a lot of fun to read.

Should you buy it? Yep; no reservations. If you like this sort of story, you'll love this one!
JAC. show less

Surprisingly good, particularly since I think I got this free on kindle a while back. If you need something light and fun with engaging characters, give it a go. Caz rebuilds rocking horses. One day she finds a "bum" on her patio who turns out to be a rock star who is supposed to be dead. That sounds cheesy, but it was well written and a nice little ride.

This gripped me from the start: the setting, futuristic London in deep, deep snow, was thoroughly convincing and the little party living at the tops of high rises and how they survived in the snow was fascinating enough. Then the action started and you're really swept along: the pace is fast and exciting. The violence is nicely dealt with, not overdone but realistic. I see Lexi has written two other novels which I hope to read, soon - sorry they don't seem to be set in the same place, show more though, as I felt there was potential for more, there! show less